Overview

Powers have many aspects, such as damage caused, accuracy, and endurance cost. Enhancements permanently improve one or more of those aspects. For example, for a typical ranged blast power, Enhancements can make it hit more frequently, cause more damage, reach farther, cost less endurance to use, or have a faster rate of fire. An Enhancement's type and level both affect how much benefit it gives to a power. Once an Enhancement is assigned to a power, it cannot be moved to a different power, although it can have its level increased or be replaced or removed entirely.

Enhancements can be bought from contacts and stores. They are also "dropped" randomly by defeated (non-player) enemies and are provided as rewards for some missions.

A common mistake made by new players is to refer to enhancements as enchantments, a carry-over from fantasy games.

Enhancement Types

There are four main types of Enhancements: Training, Dual Origin, Single Origin and Invention Origin (abbreviated to TO, DO, SO and IO respectively). There are also several kinds of Special Enhancements, usually as rewards of a particularly difficult task set to players. Training, Invention Origin and Special Enhancements are usable by any character. Dual-Origin and Single-Origin Enhancements are only usable by characters based on the character's origin.

The main types of Enhancement all improve only one particular aspect of a power. Special Enhancements and some Invention Origin Enhancements improve multiple aspects.

Training Enhancements

Training Enhancements are usable by all character Archetypes and origins. Training Enhancements may be bought in Freedom Corps stores located in various zones, from Freedom Corps Superpowered Field Trainers in Atlas Park, Kings Row, and The Hollows, and, at an inflated cost, from individual contacts. They are also sometimes provided as mission bonuses.

Training Enhancements are the least potent of all Enhancements. They are dropped by enemies for characters of level 1-21.

Dual-Origin Enhancements

Dual-Origin Enhancements, often referred to as DOs, provide exactly twice as much improvement as Training Enhancements. Because DOs are more powerful, they are more specific for a character and also much more expensive. DOs may only be used by a character whose origin matches one of the Enhancement's two. For example, a Natural/Magic DO is only usable by characters of a Natural or a Magical origin.

Dual-Origin Enhancements may be bought at origin-specific stores and NPCs in various zones and, at an inflated cost, from individual contacts. Currently, the lowest level Dual-Origin Enhancements available for purchase are level 15, which are usable by characters of minimum level 12. DOs are dropped by enemies for characters of level 13-40. DOs are also sometimes provided as mission bonuses, and in the cases of Task Forces and Story Arcs, the player may even choose the aspect.

Each Origin only "crosses" with two others in Dual-Origin Enhancements. This may be relevant when deciding which stores to visit and for party optimization.

Character Origin

Enhancement Types

Magic

Magic/Mutation

Magic/Natural

Mutation

Mutation/Magic

Mutation/Science

Natural

Natural/Magic

Natural/Technology

Science

Science/Mutation

Science/Technology

Technology

Technology/Natural

Technology/Science

Single-Origin Enhancements

Single-Origin Enhancements, often referred to as SOs, are even more powerful. They provide twice as much improvement as DOs (or four times as much as Training) and may be used only by a character whose origin matches the Enhancement's.

Single-Origin enhancements may be bought at origin-specific stores and NPCs in various zones and, at an inflated cost, from individual contacts. Currently, the lowest level Single-Origin Enhancements generally available for purchase are level 25, which are usable by characters of minimum level 22. There are, however, some particular exceptions as low as level 13 sold in Mr. Yin's store, allowing some characters to use some SOs as early as level 10. SOs are dropped by enemies for characters of level 22-50. SOs are also sometimes provided as mission bonuses, and in the cases of Task Forces and Story Arcs, the player may even choose the aspect.

SOs in certain level ranges for Heroes may only be purchased from contacts that require a mission before they will deal with you. Here is a quick reference. More detail in each contact's page and on the Stores Inventory page.

Drop Rates

This table shows the exact chances that dropped Enhancements will be of a certain type, according to the patch notes for Issue 9. This is not the chance of getting an Enhancement as a reward for defeating an enemy.

CharacterLevel

Training

Dual-Origin

Single-Origin

1-12

100%

13-21

50%

50%

22-31

50%

50%

32-40

25%

75%

41-50

100%

This table shows the relative chances of getting a specific type of enhancement (Accuracy, Damage, etc.) when you receive an enhancement drop. These rates apply to Training, Dual, Single, and Common Invention enhancement drops.

Enhancement

Drop Ratio

Drop %

Endurance Discount

26 / 175

14.86%

Accuracy

20 / 175

11.43%

Damage

20 / 175

11.43%

Recharge

20 / 175

11.43%

Range

17 / 175

9.71%

Defense Buff

10 / 175

5.71%

Heal

10 / 175

5.71%

Resist Damage

10 / 175

5.71%

Fly

5 / 175

2.86%

Hold

5 / 175

2.86%

Immobilize

5 / 175

2.86%

Stun

5 / 175

2.86%

Run

3 / 175

1.71%

Sleep

3 / 175

1.71%

Slow

3 / 175

1.71%

ToHit DeBuff

3 / 175

1.71%

Knockback

2 / 175

1.14%

ToHit Buff

2 / 175

1.14%

Confuse

1 / 175

0.57%

Defense DeBuff

1 / 175

0.57%

Endurance Modification

1 / 175

0.57%

Fear

1 / 175

0.57%

Jump

1 / 175

0.57%

Taunt

1 / 175

0.57%

Special Enhancements

Special Enhancements are usable by all character archetypes and origins, but are only obtainable by completing some very difficult-to-accomplish tasks. Special Enhancements provide the same improvement as Single-Origin Enhancements, but to more than one aspect simultaneously. For example, a Special Enhancement may affect both the damage and accuracy of a power, whereas all other Enhancement types would affect either one or the other.

Invention Origin Enhancements fall in to two categories: Standard (aka Common) Invention Origin Enhancements and Invention Origin Enhancement Sets. Both IO enhancement categories require three parts to create: a recipe, Invention Salvage and inf, and both can only be created at an invention worktable.

Both Invention Origin Enhancement categories always provide the same bonus to a power, regardless of character level - they never expire as a character advances in levels, and a lower level IO can still be slotted by a high level character. Generally though, the higher the level of the IO, the higher the benefit that it gives. A level 50 Invention Origin Enhancement provides approximately 27% more benefit compared to an even-level Single Origin Enhancement, and is less than 11% better than a +3-level SO. See also: Invention Origin Enhancement Scaling.

Standard Invention Origin Enhancements can be purchased (using inf) at a fixed cost, at any level, at an invention worktable, or if other players are selling them, through the Auction House . Standard IO Enhancements are only available at levels divisible by 5 (i.e. 10, 15, 20 etc). Standard IO Enhancements only ever improve one aspect of a power (much like a TO, DO or SO) and provide no other benefits apart from not expiring as the player levels.

Invention Origin Enhancement Sets (like Sting of the Manticore) are unable to be purchased - they have to be earned, as either a drop from a defeated enemy, or completion of a mission, trial or task force. They can, however, be auctioned through the Auction House, at a price to be determined by the seller. IO Enhancement sets are available at every level (i.e. not only those levels divisible by 5) and provide two further benefits to the player:

Firstly, not only do they give the standard bonuses to a power, many of them improve more than one aspect (like Range/Accuracy) which allows for more effective and diverse slotting options.

Secondly, IO sets also provide special effects when different members of the same set are slotted in the same power. You cannot put multiple identical IO set Enhancements into the same single power, but you may put multiple identical IO set Enhancements into different powers.

Slotting and Stacking

A power can only have as many Enhancements as it has slots. Every power begins with one slot. As a character increases in level, they receive additional slots which they can distribute however they choose among their powers, with the only limit being that no power can have more than six slots. Thus, each power may potentially be enhanced up to six times.

Each character also has an inventory tray that can hold up to ten spare Enhancements. The inventory tray can be extended via the Paragon Market using 1600 Paragon Points to add ten slots. This can be done twice to have thirty inventory slots in total for holding Enhancements. As there is limited room to display slots, each set of ten slots are placed in tabs.

Once a slot is assigned to a power, it is permanent. Once an Enhancement is put into a slot, it may not be reallocated to another slot or removed, although it can be destroyed, replaced with a different Enhancement (which also destroys the old one), or combined with a similar Enhancement to increase its level (more on that later). A player can use a power respecification to overcome these restrictions by completely rebuilding her character from level 1, but this is an all-or-nothing process, requiring every power and every slot to be re-chosen.

The Lightning Bolt power, slotted with three accuracy enhancements and one damage enhancement

Enhancements may be stacked, or have multiple copies slotted within the same power, to provide larger bonuses to the aspects they enhance. The improvement that comes from stacking Enhancements is normally cumulative. However, when the total improvement becomes high enough, it is subject to Enhancement Diversification, which imposes diminishing returns. In the example picture above, three accuracy Enhancements (a DO, a Training, and an SO, respectively) are stacked in the slots for the Lightning Bolt power. Since the cumulative boost of these Enhancements is not high enough to be subject to Enhancement Diversification, the total boost in accuracy is equal to the sum of the boosts for each Enhancement.

To see when characters open up new enhancement slots, see the Leveling Chart.

Enhancement Levels

Every Enhancement has a level. All Enhancements (except Invention Origin Enhancements) must be within three levels of a character for the effect to be applied. For example, a level 12 character may use Enhancements that are level 9 through level 15. Enhancements that are slightly above or below the character's level provide slightly stronger or weaker benefits, respectively. Invention Origin Enhancements work slightly differently, providing a constant benefit if slotted, regardless of level.

Enhancements 4 or more levels above the character display their level in red. They cannot be inserted into slots. This includes Invention Origin Enhancements.

Enhancements from 1-3 levels above the character display their level in green. They provide an extra 5% of their usual benefits for each level above the character's. (That's “5% of the bonus”, not “another +5%”. For example, if an even-level SO gives a benefit of +20%, then a +1-level SO would give a benefit of +21%, not +25%.)

Enhancements equal to the character's level display their level in white. They provide their usual benefits.

Enhancements from 1-3 levels below the character display their level in yellow. They provide 10% less of their usual benefits for each level below the character's.

Enhancements 4 or more levels below the character display their level in red. They cannot be inserted into slots. Enhancements that are already in slots but become obsolete due to the character gaining levels stay in their slots but provide no benefits. Enhancements that are already slotted may be combined with equivalent appropriate-level Enhancements to provide an improvement, although at a low chance of success.

In the example image above, the effective level of the first accuracy Enhancement is equal to the character's level, 27. The effective level of the second, 26, is below the character's level. The effective level of the third and fourth Enhancements, 28, is above the character's level.

Combining Enhancements

All Enhancements except Invention Origin may be combined, which makes two of one type of Enhancement into one slightly higher-level one. Combining allows old Enhancements to be upgraded at a lower cost than buying new ones. It also allows a character to have Enhancements of a level not sold in stores or otherwise easily obtained. Combined enhancements can not be sold in the Auction House.

Enhancements may only be combined if:

They are the same type.

They enhance the same aspect (or full set of aspects).

For DOs and SOs, they must both match the character's origin. Two DOs can combine as long as they both share an origin with the character, even if they don't have the same two origins as each other.

The higher of the two Enhancements is at most 2 levels above the character. If both Enhancements are the same level, they must both meet this requirement.

The higher of the two Enhancements hasn't already been upgraded twice. If both are the same level, they can combine if one of them has been upgraded twice, but not if both have.

The most often-used method of combining involves one Enhancement already in a power and one in the inventory tray. It is also possible to combine two Enhancements that are already in the same power. A successful combination destroys the lower-level Enhancement, increases the level of the higher one by 1, and puts that upgraded Enhancement into the power. The increase is shown by an extra “+” after the Enhancement's level, which marks the increase as well as the fact that it's been upgraded once. This is important, since Enhancements cannot be upgraded more than twice through combining. For example, a level 6++, a level 7+, and a level 8 Enhancement are all effectively level 8 and all provide identical bonuses, but the 8 can be improved two more times, the 7+ only once more, and the 6++ cannot be improved (although it can be used to improve another).

Combining doesn't always work. Success or failure depends on how different the Enhancements' levels are from each other. Equal levels are guaranteed to combine. Every level between the two Enhancements adds a 5% chance of failure. A failed combine destroys the lower-level Enhancement and puts the higher one into the power without increasing its level. (Note that when combining from the tray, if the tray Enhancement is higher than the one in the power, a failure still replaces the low with the high, which is still an improvement.)

Enhancement Aspects and Schedules

Currently, there are 26 Enhancement aspects:

Accuracy

Confusion

Damage

Defense Buff

Defense Debuff

Endurance Modification

Endurance Reduction

Fear

Fly

Healing

Hold Duration

Immobilization Duration

Intangibility

Interrupt Time (or Activation Acceleration)

Jumping

Knockback Distance

Range Increase

Recharge Time

Resist Damage

Run Speed

Sleep

Slow (or Snare)

Stun

Taunt

To Hit Buff

To Hit Debuff

These aspects don't all receive the same benefit from Enhancements. Some get more boost than others. Aspects fit into four general categories, called schedules, according to how much benefit they get.

Aspects in the Schedule A category are enhanced by 33.33% when slotted with a Single-Origin Enhancement of equal level to the character, 16.66% when slotted with a Dual-Origin Enhancement of equal level as the character, and 8.35% when slotted with a Training Enhancement of equal level as the character:

RelativeLevel

Training

Dual-Origin

Single-Originand Special

–3

5.845

11.662

23.331

–2

6.680

13.328

26.664

–1

7.515

14.994

29.997

0

8.350

16.660

33.330

+1

8.768

17.493

34.997

+2

9.185

18.326

36.663

+3

9.603

19.159

38.330

Schedule B

Aspects in the Schedule B category are enhanced by 20% when slotted with a Single-Origin Enhancement of equal level to the character, 10% when slotted with a Dual-Origin Enhancement of equal level as the character, and 5% when slotted with a Training Enhancement of equal level as the character:

RelativeLevel

Training

Dual-Origin

Single-Originand Special

–3

3.50

7.0

14

–2

4.00

8.0

16

–1

4.50

9.0

18

0

5.00

10.0

20

+1

5.25

10.5

21

+2

5.50

11.0

22

+3

5.75

11.5

23

Schedule C

Interrupt Time

Aspects in the Schedule C category are enhanced by 40% when slotted with a Single-Origin Enhancement of equal level to the character, 20% when slotted with a Dual-Origin Enhancement of equal level as the character, and 10% when slotted with a Training Enhancement of equal level as the character:

RelativeLevel

Training

Dual-Origin

Single-Originand Special

–3

7.0

14

28

–2

8.0

16

32

–1

9.0

18

36

0

10.0

20

40

+1

10.5

21

42

+2

11.0

22

44

+3

11.5

23

46

Schedule D

Knockback Distance

Aspects in the Schedule D category are enhanced by 60% when slotted with a Single-Origin Enhancement of equal level to the character, 30% when slotted with a Dual-Origin Enhancement of equal level as the character, and 15% when slotted with a Training Enhancement of equal level as the character:

RelativeLevel

Training

Dual-Origin

Single-Originand Special

–3

10.50

21.0

42

–2

12.00

24.0

48

–1

13.50

27.0

54

0

15.00

30.0

60

+1

15.75

31.5

63

+2

16.50

33.0

66

+3

17.25

34.5

69

Retired Aspects

This section contains information that no longer applies to the current version of City of Heroes Freedom. It is provided for historical purposes.

There are several Enhancement aspects that have been retired and combined into new ones. The currently known ones are:

Cone Range, which was incorporated into the Range aspect;

Endurance Drain, and

Endurance Recovery, which were merged into the Endurance Modification aspect;

Team Defense, and

Self Defense, which were merged into the Defense Buff aspect

Relative Enhancement Values

Effectiveness (%)

Enhancement

5.85

-3 TO

6.68

-2 TO

7.52

-1 TO

8.35

+0 TO

8.77

+1 TO

9.19

+2 TO

9.60

+3 TO

11.66

-3 DO

11.70

Level 10 IO

13.33

-2 DO

14.63

Level 10 Dual Set IO

14.99

-1 DO

16.66

+0 DO

17.49

+1 DO

17.55

Level 10 Triple Set IO

18.33

+2 DO

18.8

Level 12 Dual Set IO

19.16

+3 DO

19.20

Level 15 IO

20.0

Level 11 Triple Set IO

20.9

Level 13 Dual Set IO

23.33

-3 SO

24.00

Level 15 Dual Set IO

25.60

Level 20 IO

26.66

-2 SO

28.80

Level 15 Triple Set IO

30.00

-1 SO

32.00

Level 20 Dual Set IO

32.00

Level 25 IO

32.7

Level 17 Triple Set IO

33.33

+0 SO

33.6

Level 21 Dual Set IO

34.7

Level 18 Triple Set IO

34.80

Level 30 IO

35.00

+1 SO

36.66

+2 SO

36.70

Level 35 IO

38.33

+3 SO

38.40

Level 20 Triple Set IO

38.4

Level 24 Dual Set IO

38.60

Level 40 IO

40.00

Level 25 Dual Set IO

40.50

Level 45 IO

42.40

Level 50 IO

43.50

Level 30 Dual Set IO

45.88

Level 35 Dual Set IO

48.00

Level 25 Triple Set IO

48.25

Level 40 Dual Set IO

50.63

Level 45 Dual Set IO

52.20

Level 30 Triple Set IO

53.00

Level 50 Dual Set IO

53.00

Superior Single Set IO

55.05

Level 35 Triple Set IO

57.90

Level 40 Triple Set IO

60.75

Level 45 Triple Set IO

63.60

Level 50 Triple Set IO

66.20

Superior Dual Set IO

66.66

+0 Dual HO

79.50

Superior Triple Set IO

99.99

+0 Triple HO

The following is a table of a combination of Training Origin, Dual Origin, Single Origin, Common Invention Origin, Hamidon (and Synthetic Hamidon) Origin, and a selection of Invention Set Enhancements, in order of enhancement effectiveness. It shows the relative value of all of these enhancements combined into one table. Naturally, this does not take into account the power it is being slotted into. An EndMod/Accuracy Set Enhancement will only be using half of it's value in an auto-hit power, for instance. Likewise it does not take into account the relative usefulness of the effect being enhanced. A Centriole HO for instance would appear to be highly ranked, however because it enhances Range, it is generally not considered one of the best enhancements available. Nevertheless this table shows that SO level performance is possible as early as level 18 by slotting level 21 dual set enhancements or level 14 by slotting level 17 triple set enhancements.

The table assumes Schedule A Enhancements, however the ordering would not change for other Schedules. The highlighted numbers represent traditional "signposts" of effectiveness. Before I9, an even-level SO was considered acceptable performance, while a +3 SO was considered ideal. When you hit level 47, you could begin to slot HOs, which represented the maximum effectiveness available before inventions. Very few powers can actually use all three enhanceable effects of triple HOs, but in theory they still represents the maximum possible effectiveness.

This list does not attempt to list every enhancement in the game. The omissions are quad set IOs, non even-level HOs, Hydra and Crystal "HO"s, and many possible levels of invention set enhancements. It is not intended to be comprehensive.